THE DOMINIONS' ARMIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1918, Page 4

THE DOMINIONS' ARMIES.

A LIE N AILED. (From Our Own Correspondent): Wellington, Jan. 3. There seems to have been a great cjeal of loose talk in Australia during the referendum campaign regarding the relative contributions of the various Dominions to the armies of the Empire. One of the statements made freely waa f that Australia had supplied as many soldiers in proportion to population at New Zealand. This is absurd. New ZeaJ land has sent away more than 80,00f men. Australia on this basis should have sent not less than 400,000. But, as a matter of fact, Australia had sent overseas up to the end of October, 1917, 208,000 men. This is a corrected total announced by the Federal Minister of Defence last week. The Minister explained that larger totals had been given previously in error. Another statement was that Australia had sent away as many men as Canada, and New Zealand combined. Official %« ures' show that Canada had sent oversea men up to June 20 last. New Zealand at that time had despatched more than 70,o()0 men. Thus Canada and New Zealand had provided about 400,000 men at a time when Australia had supplied not more than 280,000. Comparisons of this kind are odious, of course, but the misstatements of Australia's anti-conscriptionists ought not to pass unchallenged.